Baseball and softball organizations periodically publish and update equipment standards and/or requirements including performance limitations for ball bats. One recently issued standard is the Bat-Ball Coefficient of Restitution (“BBCOR”) Standard adopted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) on May 21, 2009. The BBCOR Standard, which became effective on Jan. 1, 2011 for NCAA baseball, is a principal part of the NCAA's effort, using available scientific data, to maintain as nearly as possible wood-like baseball bat performance in non-wood baseball bats. Although wood ball bats provide many beneficial features, they are prone to failure, and because wooden ball bats are typically solid (not hollow), wooden bats can be too heavy for younger players even at reduced bat lengths. Wood ball bats also provide little or no flexibility in the design of the hitting or barrel region of the bat. Non-wood bats, such as bats formed of aluminum, other alloys, composite fiber materials, thermoplastic materials and combinations thereof, allow for performance of the bat to be more readily tuned or adjusted throughout or along the hitting or barrel portion. Such characteristics enable non-wood bats to provide more consistent performance, increased reliability and increased durability than wood bats.
Other organizations have also adopted the BBCOR Standard. For example, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has set Jan. 1, 2012 as the effective date for implementation of the BBCOR Standard for high school play. The BBCOR Standard includes a 0.500 BBCOR bat performance limit, which specifies that no point on the barrel or hitting portion of a bat can exceed the 0.500 BBCOR bat performance limit.
Bat manufacturers, such as DeMarini, have responded by producing bats that are certified under the BBCOR Standard. These bats generally have a slightly higher moment of inertia and can have stiffer barrels or impact regions than non-BBCOR baseball bats. One approach to achieving a stiffer barrel portion or region of a bat made of a fiber composite material is to form the bat with fiber composite layers having high angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the bat (e.g. 45 degrees and higher). The higher angle fiber layers provide more hoop strength to the cylindrical barrel portion without adding additional thickness and/or weight to the barrel portion. However, higher angle fiber composite layers can be difficult to work with because the high angle fiber layers when wrapped about a bladder during molding of the barrel portion of the bat severely restricts the expansion of the material. Accordingly, bladder molding of a barrel portion of a ball bat having high angle fiber composite layers often result in voids, low durability and poor cosmetic appearance. Compounding the concern is the material costs. Fiber composite material is very expensive and any condition that results in an increase in production time, production cost or waste is highly undesirable. Bladder molding of a barrel portion of a ball bat having high angle fiber composite layers often results in barrel portions exhibiting poor and/or undesirable reliability, durability and/or an undesirable appearance.
Accordingly, a need exists to develop a method and/or system for forming barrel portions of a ball bat or other cylindrical portions of a ball bat using fiber composite material having high fiber angles in a cost effective, reliable and high quality manner. What is needed is a system or process of developing a ball bat formed at least in part of high angle fiber composite material that provides a high quality cosmetic appearance, is highly durable, and provides the desired operational characteristics. It would be advantageous to provide a ball bat, and a system or method for producing a ball bat including a barrel portion formed of a high angle fiber composite material, that can satisfy performance requirements, such as BBCOR certification, without adding too much weight or wall thickness to the barrel portion. It would be advantageous to provide a ball bat with a desirable level of barrel stiffness, and provides exceptional feel and performance.